Ring and star puzzle



May 14, 1968 M. E. M CANDLESS RING AND STAR PUZZLE Filed Feb. 16, 1965 Monroe E. Mc Cand/ess INVENTOR. aaiiz United States Patent Office Patented May 14, 1968 3,383,113 RING AND STAR PUZZLE Monore E. McCandless, Rte. 14, South Barre, Vt. 05670 Filed Feb. 16, 1965, Ser. No. 432,980 2 Claims. (Cl. 273156) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A puzzle including two components capable of being assembled and disassembled in relation to each other upon following a predetermined manipulative procedure. One of the components is a rigid oval-shaped ring and the other of the components is a rigid star having six points with one of the six points being shorter than the other five. In assembling the star with the ring, the shorter point of the star passes across the inner surface of the ring to serve as a key to the assembly and disassembly.

The present invention generally relates to a puzzle and more particularly to such a puzzle having a generally oval-shaped or oblong ring or loop together with a starlike device for association therewith by employing manual manipulative steps.

An object of the present invention is to provide a puzzle combining a rigid oblong belt or loop together with a star-like device for association therewith whereby the star-like device may be connected with and removed from the belt by following a manipulative procedure. The puzzle is not only interesting and relatively inexpensive to manufacture but also requires the use of and thus will develop manual dexterity of the fingers and will also illustrate associational relationship between a closed loop structure and a star-like member for illustrating the relationship between two well-known solid figures thus not only providing a highly intriguing puzzle but also one which will illustrate certain fundamental geometrical relationships and thus be considered an educational device.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a puzzle in accordance with the preceding object having a belt or loop-type structure associated with a star of a particular shape and configuration and dimensionally related to the belt so that the star and belt may be assembled or disassembled. The belt is provided with inclined interior surfaces to facilitate the assembly and disassembly of the belt and star.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the retails of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the puzzle of the present invention with the star and belt assembled;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of the assembly taken along section line 2-2 on FIGURE 1 but with the star being partially assembled with the belt;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view illustrating the star; and

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the belt.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral generally designates the puzzle of the present in vention including a belt 12 and a star 14 which may be assembled in relation to each other as illustrated in FIG- URE l or disassembled in relation to each other as illustrated in FIGURES 3-4. With the star 14 assembled with the belt 12 as illustrated in FIGURE 1, the object of the invention is, of course, to remove the star from the belt. The puzzle is somewhat diificult to operate and it takes some practice to accomplish the feat. Actually, there is only one way in which the star may be manipulated in order to remove it from the belt. This operational procedure will be set forth hereinafter.

The belt 12 is generally oval-shaped or oblong in configuration and includes a pair of side portions 16 and 18 and rounded end portions 20 and 22. A buckle structure 24 and a belt-loop 26 may be provided on the device but the structure is actually rigid and constructed of metal or the like. The belt 12 has inclined inner surfaces 28 both of which are inclined in one direction with its inclination being somewhat similar to that found on the larger handle of a pair of conventional scissors or the like. While the dimensions of the invention may vary, one preferred embodiment thereof involves the use of a belt or loop having an over-all length dimension of approximately two inches and having an over-all width dimension of approximately one inch.

The star 14 is in the form of a solid or hollow body and has six points as at 30, 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40 with point 40 being slightly shorter than the other points. The over-all length of the star may be one and one-half inches and the width may be one and five-eights inches although these dimensions may vary depending upon the dimensions of the belt.

In operating the puzzle, the belt 12 is'held between the thumb and forefinger of the right hand so that the buckle is facing in toward the hand and is closest to the thumb. The buckle in all instances must be facing the persons right side at all times even though the belt is held in the left hand.

Hold the star 14 by point 32 which point is protruding through the bottom of the belt with point 30 up through the belt and facing the person and tilted to the left; with point 38 and 40 on top of the rightside of the belt and point 38 over the buckle, tip point 40 away from the person and take it down through the belt.

To replace the star in the belt, hold the star by point 32 and bring points 30 and 38 up through the belt with point 38 over the buckle. Then bring point 40 into posisition in the belt and turn to lock in place. Thus, it will be understood that the structure of the puzzle is quite simple and the procedure employed for assemblying and disassembling the two components thereof is also rather simple but the manual dexterity employed in manipulating the components of the puzzle will actually determine the time required to separate or assemble the belt and star. The belt and the star may be constructed of relatively inexpensive metal, plastic or the like and will provide a stimulus for the person using the puzzle in order for him to overcome the challenge, it will be necessary thathe practice and exercise manual dexterity and also become familiar with the association and relationship between the oval-shaped loop or belt and the star member thereby facilitating the understanding of these two well known solid geometric figures and their relationship for a better understanding of such devices.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the inven tion as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A puzzle comprising a belt member and a star member, said belt member being rigid and of oval-shaped configuration, said star member having six points thereon radiating from a central juncture, one point of said star member being shorter than the other five, the dimensions of said belt member and star member being such that when the star member is oriented in a particular manner in relation to the belt member, certain of the points of the star member will be engaged with one side edge of the belt member, certain of the points of the star member will be engaged with the other side edge of the belt member and said shorter point of the star member will pass over the inner peripheral surface of the belt member in only one position of the star member for retaining the star member and belt member in assembled relation until a predetermined manipulative procedure is followed for removing the star member from the belt member, said belt member including a buckle-like structure at one portion of the periphery thereof for indicating the position of the belt member when the star member and belt member are being assembled and disassembled.

2. A puzzle comprising an oblong rigid ring having a generally fiat but inclined inner surface, a star having only six radial points with a single point being shorter than the others, the dimensions of the star being such that three of the points thereof are disposed on one side of the ring and two of the points are disposed on the other side of the ring when said single shorter point of the star passes across the inner surface of the ring for assembling and disassembling the star and ring, one of the three points forming a handle by which the star is manipulated.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 558,009 4/1896 Worrall 2l3l56 609,081 8/1898 Collins 273--156 819,345 5/1906 Dorstrom 273-156 3,168,316 2/1965 Lytle 273156 ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner. 

